


Stay with me until the end

by SnarkyBreeze



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: A Plant Wrote This, Angst, Angst and Feels, I’m so sorry, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 20:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17814986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnarkyBreeze/pseuds/SnarkyBreeze
Summary: It’s been a year of keeping comfortable, of enjoying the little things, and making time to bask in the love he and Yuuri have for Makkachin. It’s been a year of keeping the truth—her prognosis—in the back of their minds while they enjoyed evenings in with Makka and their new puppy, Kacchan.





	Stay with me until the end

This isn’t a trip Viktor is looking forward to.

He presses a button on his keys, the car blinks in response, and for the life of him he cannot swallow down the lump that’s forming in his throat.

He’s known this was coming. He’s known for almost a year.

“Are you okay? Yuuri? Do you have her?”

He should turn and look, to make sure Yuuri isn’t straining himself as he hoists Makkachin into the backseat, but he can’t seem to look up from the keys in his hand, the Makka-shaped charm dangling from them and sparkling in the morning sun.

“I have her, my Vitya, she’s fine,” Yuuri soothes.  “Do you need me to drive, love?”

Viktor blinks back the sting of tears. He opens his mouth to assure he’s fine, but betrays himself with a little, involuntary sob.

Yuuri’s at his side in an instant, kissing away the tears at the corners of his eyes and prying the keys out of his hand.  “You sit with your girl. Let me take care of you.”

“I don’t want to do this,” Viktor whispers, his face pressed into the curve of his husband’s neck. “Yuuri, I can’t do this.”

“Today is the hardest part, Vitya, but you’ll get through. We will do it together,” Yuuri assures him.  “Let’s get going.”

The leather of the backseat is cold against Viktor’s back, but Makka is warm, curled up in his lap and snoring, and so Viktor lets himself relinquish this bit of responsibility to Yuuri and curls up on his side around his dog, breathing in the smell of her soft, silver-dusted curls, trying to forget their destination as the car’s engine thrums beneath him.

It’s been a year of keeping comfortable, of enjoying the little things, and making time to bask in the love he and Yuuri have for Makkachin. It’s been a year of keeping the truth—her prognosis—in the back of their minds while they enjoyed evenings in with Makka and their new puppy, Kacchan. Yuuri grew into a habit of making occasional people-food meals for the aging pup. Chicken and rice in broth was her favorite, except maybe for ice cream, which Viktor slipped her every now and again just to see the light return to her big, beautiful black eyes.

Makka could barely walk anymore, but they found ways to take her to her favorite places, wheeling her in a wagon down to the beach to lay in the gentle waves, even carrying her out into the deeper waters and holding her afloat underneath the summer sun. They shared the job of holding her back haunches up in a sling to get her outside to potty, or of cleaning up the absorbent pads that now lined her bed and drawing warm baths to clean her off when she didn’t make it outside. 

She loved the warm waters; Viktor speculates it reminded her of the onsen, and she laid in her tub licking wet kisses all over his face and arms, her tail thumping against the side, even when she was achy and dirty and sick from the medication.

Every time, it felt like a thank-you.

Having a puppy in the house aged her, they always said, but in the most adorable way. She laid and snoozed, her gentle snores droning in the background of their everyday routine, and let little Katya crawl all over her, squinting and tolerant of the little pup’s playful nips and excessive kisses. Katya took it upon herself to clean Makkachin’s ears and eyes every day, and Makka pretended to be annoyed, but Yuuri and Viktor could see how much she enjoyed the pampering.

She even kept a bit of that playfulness herself, and they watched it come out occasionally. She loved to steal Katya’s toys and just hold them, dangling them tauntingly just out of the puppy’s reach.   When she got her medicine, a painkiller to keep her comfortable, she would find her favorite ball and curl up with it, knowing full well that soon she would feel a little better. Soon she would be able to play.

But then things started happening, and when they did, they happened fast.  And pretty soon the time for gourmet meals and trips to the beach were past.  Makka wasn’t eating  _ anything,  _ not even her favorite people foods.  She grew less tolerant of being moved or bathed, and she growled when Katya got too close.

Then, while her dads were away for work, she snapped at Yurio.

She’d never shown signs of aggression.   They knew it was time.  No matter how much they dreaded it, they knew they had to do what was best for her.

Yuuri held Viktor close, reminded him that for over a decade he’d given Makkachin the best life, and that this was just a part of that.  It would be hard, it would hurt, but it would be better than letting her hurt.

Viktor listens to her little, squeaky snores as he tries to take in as much of her as he can. Her smell, the silky slip of her curls between his fingers, the rise and fall of her chest as he cradles her in his arms… he doesn’t want to forget this, either.  When he remembers Makkachin, he wants to remember her entirely.

The car stops too soon, the silence that follows when Yuuri cuts the engine deafening.

“Okay,” Yuuri breathes, his voice heavy and controlled in a way that Viktor cannot even fathom. “Okay. Let’s do this. Are you ready?”

“No,” Viktor whines into the fur behind Makkachin’s ears.

He can hear the sharp intake of breath, the subtle whine that escapes his husband’s throat.  “Me neither,” Yuuri admits. “Not even a little bit.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this for a contest on the YOI Angst Zine discord server... please don’t hate me...
> 
> You can find me on Twitter and Tumblr
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


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